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Putnam murder appeal denied

The second degree murder conviction of a Putnam County man has been upheld once again by the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, which has denied "post-conviction relief" in the case.

Christopher Lewis was convicted six years ago of second degree murder for the killing of his wife, Amy Lewis, whose body was found inside the couple’s home on Jim Garrett Road in 2010. He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence.

In an opinion issued Sept. 7, the appeals court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief for Lewis, who claims that he received ineffective assistance from his trial counsel because he failed to call several witnesses and failed to introduce evidence that would have helped the case.

According to Lewis, that included evidence “of the weather during the weekend” of his wife's death and “additional evidence regarding a large hole” in the back yard of his home.

In his ruling, Judge D. Kelly Thomas Jr. noted that post-conviction relief is available when a “conviction or sentence is void or voidable because of the abridgment of any right guaranteed by the Constitution.

"When a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is made, the burden is on the petitioner to show that counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficiency was prejudicial."

Thomas said Lewis failed to meet that burden, noting that trial counsel "made an informed, strategic and tactical decision not to call" certain witnesses. Thomas also noted that some of the testimony those witnesses would have given "would have been irrelevant and inadmissible at trial."

The ruling also stated that "testimony about the origin of the hole in the backyard would not have been material to the Petitioner’s defense at trial" nor would introduction of evidence about the weather.